THE families of the three schoolgirls feared to have fled to Syria to join Islamic State said they have been let down by the police.

The police sent a letter to parents requesting to interview the three girls in relation to the disappearance of a classmate who had escaped to war-torn Syria.

But it was handed to families via the schoolgirls, who hid the letters in their textbooks.

Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and 15-year-old Amira Abase, who attended Bethnal Green Academy in east London, are feared to have been radicalised online.

They sparked a police hunt after they flew to Istanbul from Gatwick Airport last month and are now believed to be in Syria.

Abase Hussein, the father of Amira, believes his daughter would still be at home if he had seen the police warning.

ITV NEWS

Abase Hussein, the father of Amira said he would have stopped his daughter if he knew

ITV NEWS

Halima Khanom, sister of Kadiza Sultana

We wouldn't have been here today doing this if we'd got that letter and known what was going on

Halima Khanom

He told ITV News: "If we knew, this wouldn't have happened.

"We would have stopped them. We would have discussed it and taken away their passports from them. This wouldn't have happened."

Halima Khanom, sister of Kadiza Sultana, said: "We wouldn't have been here today doing this if we'd got that letter and known what was going on."

Scotland Yard said the girls were spoken to by officers as part of a “routine inquiry”.

PA

Kadiza Sultana, Shamima Begum and Amira Abase at Gatwick Airport

A Metropolitan Police statement said: "The Metropolitan Police Service has been engaged with staff at the girls' school since December 2014 as part of the routine inquiry by officers investigating the disappearance of their friend.

"There was nothing to suggest at the time that the girls themselves were at risk and indeed their disappearance has come as a great surprise, not least to their own families.

"The girls were spoken to in December 2014 as part of the routine inquiry by officers investigating the disappearance of their friend.

"We continue to liaise with the school and local education authority in connection with this ongoing investigation."